Published for the
Members and Friends
of the Harpers Ferry
Historical Association
Spring 2009
IN THIS ISSUE:
John Brown
Sesquicentennial
Schedule of Events
Captain John Cook
o
John Brown Sesquicentennial
Events Kick Off in April
n October 16, 2009, one hundred and
fifty years will have passed since the
rainy night a thin, grizzled man named John
Brown led twenty-one men down a Maryland country road, across the Potomac River, and into American History. His actions
over the next thirty-seven hours made him
a traitor and a hero, a murderer and a martyr. Regardless of what title one attached
to his name in 1859, it is certain that his
raid of the federal armory and arsenal in the
little town of Harpers Ferry, VA, heated the
slavery debate and put the United States on
the unavoidable track to civil war.
The Harpers Ferry National Historical
Park will begin its commemoration of the
anniversary of John Brown’s Raid on April
18, 2009, with the opening event: A Prelude
to History: The Wedding of Virginia Kennedy.
A full day of programs and activities will
focus on the arrival of raider John Cook to
Harpers Ferry and his marriage to local girl,
Mary Virginia Kennedy. Highlights of the
day will include family and youth activities
focusing on Harpers Ferry in 1859, and the
dramatic presentation My Conspirator by
Cynthia Goetz.
Goetz is the current resident of the
house where John Edwin Cook, Jr., was born
in Haddam, Connecticut. Hours of dedicated research on Cook and his family—
especially his sister, Katie—inspired Goetz’s
presentation. Told from Katie’s viewpoint,
the story explores her “beloved if misguided/
foolish/foolhardy” younger brother’s life and
his prominent role in Brown’s raid.
Harpers Ferry
Native to Sign
New Novel
1859 Raid
on Harpers Ferry
Captain John Cook: A Spy Among Us
In the early summer of 1858, a young man
arrived in the bustling little town of Harpers
Ferry, Virginia. He was short, but handsome:
deep blue eyes, and blonde hair that “curled
about his neck.” He had a poetic nature,
and spoke like a well-educated, well-raised
New Englander. He took a job as a lock
tender on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.
He also sold books and taught school in
the basement of the Presbyterian Church
on Shenandoah Street. The residents of
Harpers Ferry knew of this man, but they
didn’t know him. They didn’t know his true
motive for settling in their town. And they
had no idea that in just over a year this
charming, well-respected man would be a
fugitive, wanted for treason, insurrection,
and murder.
Born in Haddam, Connecticut in 1830,
John Edwin Cook grew up in a family of seven. His father, Nathaniel, was a cobbler and
a quarryman in pre-industrial Connecticut.
The Cook children were well-educated, successful, or married well—one sister married
Governor A.P. Williard of Indiana. John
attended Yale and studied law in New York
City. He also listened intently to famous
abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Whether
it was due to his adventurous spirit, his
anti-slavery upbringing, or his somewhat
disgraceful dismissal from Yale, in 1855 John
Cook left New England and headed west to
Kansas—ground zero of the slavery debate.
Fighting against pro-slavery settlers in
Bleeding Kansas, Cook built a reputation
continued on page 2
The picture which appears
on our newsletter’s nameplate,
dating from 1803, is one of the
oldest prints of Harpers Ferry.
Twenty years earlier, in 1783,
Thomas Jefferson had declared
that this view was “worth a
voyage across the Atlantic.”
1
 Armory
Superintendent
Members
Jo (Kuhn) Curtis
Brandywine, MD
In memory of her son,
Jim Kuhn
Dr. Robert Johnson
Harpers Ferry, WV
Ronald Jones
Our Lady of Sorrows School, Farmington, MI
Paymaster Members
Jim & Suzanne Siliva
Taunton, MA & Harpers
Ferry, WV
Maureen Weber
Falling Waters, WV
Master Armorer
Members
Allison Alsdorf
Harpers Ferry, WV
Kirk Bradley
Sanford, NC
Donald and Patricia Burgess
Harpers Ferry, WV
Hon. and Mrs. Thomas
Curtis and Family
Baltimore, MD
Peter Dessauer
Harpers Ferry, WV
Clark Dixon, Jr.
Ranson, WV
Kim and Frank Edwards
Edgewood, MD
Wayne Hammond
Saxton, PA
Bruce Kramer
Baltimore, MD
Anne A. Long
Myersville, MD
Cynthia K. Mason
Baltimore, MD
Linda Parks
Washington, DC
George Rutherford
Ranson, WV
Karen, Terry, and Josh Willis
Chestertown, MD
2
Captain John Cook
Continued from Page 1
of being an incessant talker,
quick-tempered, reckless,
an expert with firearms and
women, and “not overly
stocked with morality.” He
met John Brown in 1856,
and a year later Brown
recruited Cook to his
“Provisional Army of the
United States,” organized
to resist pro-slavery aggressions. Brown’s master
plan was to take his army
to Virginia where a raid on the
federal armory in Harpers Ferry
would certainly inspire thousands of slaves
to rise up and join him. And he entrusted
John Cook to gather the intelligence required for the attack.
Arriving in Virginia, Cook rented a
room at the boarding house of Mrs. Anne
Kennedy on Union Street in Bolivar. After finding employment on Lock 33 of the
C&O Canal, Cook concentrated on his true
mission. He studied the layout of the town,
especially the federal armory and arsenal.
He drew maps, recorded train schedules and
shift changes, and learned the strength of
the county’s militia units. Cook also gathered information about the local slaves.
How many were there? How many were
willing to join Brown’s army and possibly
give their life to end slavery?
As the months passed, Cook maintained a mostly superficial relationship
with the townspeople. He did, however,
purposely introduce himself to Colonel
Lewis W. Washington, a local militia leader,
and the 46-year old great-grandnephew of
George Washington. After stepping in front
of him on the street, he elicited an invitation to Washington’s home “Beall-Air” in
Halltown, Virginia, about five miles west of
Harpers Ferry. Washington showed Cook
two relics kept in a locked cabinet: a pistol
presented to General Washington by the
Marquis de Lafayette, and a sword from the
Prussian King Frederick the Great.
Cook claimed to be from a Kansas
buffalo hunting party and engaged Washington in stories of his skilled marksmanship.
Washington agreed to a friendly shooting contest, and, much to Cook’s surprise,
won. Cook would return to Beall-Air sev-
eral months later, under less
friendlier circumstances.
Not every aspect of
Cook’s assignment in Harpers
Ferry went according to plan.
Specifically: Mary Virginia
“Jennie” Kennedy, the teenage daughter of his landlady.
Just back from a strict boarding school, Jennie must
have been smitten by the
dashing young boarder
who wrote poetry and
told spellbinding stories.
Cook’s letters suggest
that he truly loved Jennie,
although when they married on
April 18, 1859, she was several months
pregnant. Their wedding license was issued
at the Jefferson County Courthouse, and
it is believed they were married in a civil
service at Jefferson Rock—not in a church.
Their son, John Cook, Jr., was born just a
few months after the wedding.
John Cook was now a husband and a
father. And John Brown was preparing his
men for their attack.
At the end of September, Brown sent
a wagon for Cook and his wife with a note:
“Be careful not to say or do anything which
will awaken any suspicion. You can say
your wife is going to make a visit to some
friends of hers in the country. Be very careful that you do not let any of our plans leak
out.” For her safety, Jennie was being sent
to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Cook
bid farewell to his wife and infant son, not
knowing if he would see them again.
Brown then tasked Cook with finding
out the number of male slaves on or near
the roads to Harpers Ferry. On September
30, Cook reported from Charles Town:
“The slaves are discontented and ready to
swarm like bees.”
Finally, at 8:00 p.m. on October 16,
John Brown and twenty-one followers set
off from a Maryland farmhouse towards
the Ferry. After marching silently for two
hours in a cold drizzle they reached town.
Telegraph wires were cut. Night watchmen
became hostages. The raiders met little
resistance and quickly took control of the
armory. Brown then sent Cook and several
others down the road towards Halltown,
to a house Cook knew well. After battercontinued on page 4
Schedule of Upcoming Events
Four states are planning events to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of John
Brown’s Raid. Please visit www.johnbrownraid.org for further details. New events and
press releases are being added frequently.
April 1 - October 31, 2009
Exhibition, “From the First Shot to the
Gallows: Winchester’s Involvement with
the John Brown Raid”
Sponsored by the Winchester-Frederick
County Historical Society, this exhibit
focuses on rare artifacts that tell the story
of Winchester’s involvement with the John
Brown Raid. Free admission. Monday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sunday 12:00
noon - 4:00 p.m. The Hollingsworth Mill,
1360 S. Pleasant Valley Road, Winchester,
VA. Contact Cissy Shull (phone: 540-6626550; website: www.winchesterhistory.org).
April 3-5, 2009
“John Brown Seminar”
“In the Footsteps of John Brown Seminar &
Tour” will be the first of three seminars offered by Chambersburg Civil War Seminars
in 2009. This seminar will include a tour
of Brown’s raid sites, in Chambersburg and
elsewhere, led by historians Dennis Frye and
Ted Alexander. Author and historian Brian
Steel Wills also will give a presentation on
John Brown and his depiction in cinema.
There will be presentations on Brown’s
activities in Chambersburg and his mental
state, too. An optional tour will include
Underground Railroad sites in the greater
Chambersburg area, and a visit to a historic
African-American cemetery. Four Points
Sheraton in Chambersburg, PA. For prices
and itinerary, contact Chambersburg Civil
War Seminars & Tours (100 Lincoln Way
East, Chambersburg, PA 17201; phone: 717264-7101; e-mail: [email protected];
website: www.chambersburgcivilwarseminars.
org).
April 18, 2009
“A Prelude to History: The Wedding of
Virginia Kennedy”
Opening event for the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Raid Sesquicenten-
nial. A full day of programs and activities
focusing on the arrival of Captain John
Cook to Harpers Ferry and his subsequent
marriage to Virginia Kennedy. Highlights
include family and youth activities focusing on Harpers Ferry 1859 and a dramatic
presentation entitled. “My Conspirator”,
the life of Captain John Cook as told by his
sister, Kate. 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Harpers
Ferry National Historical Park, (telephone:
304-535-6029; website: www.nps.gov/hafe).
Please visit www.johnbrownraid.org for further
details. New events and
press releases are being
added frequently.
May 1, 2009
Preview of the documentary based on
Charles Latimer’s book “Love and Valor:
the intmate Civil War letters between
Jacob and Emeline Ritner”
7:00 p.m. Capitol Theatre, Chambersburg,
PA (website: www.thecapitoltheatre.org).
May 2, 2009
Re-dedication of John Brown House
The re-dedication and grand opening
of the John Brown House will include
house tours, a public reception and a
walking tour of John Brown sites in
Chambersburg. 1:00 p.m. 225 East
King Street, Chambersburg, PA. Contact Ann Hull (phone: 717-264-1667;
website: pafch.tripod.com).
May 9, 2009
Music of “Sword of the Spirit”
In observance of John Brown’s 209th birthday, the concert will feature songs based on
the story of John Brown, his friends and his
supporters. All material written and performed by Greg Artzner and Terry Leonini.
2:00 p.m. Harpers Ferry National Historical
Park, (phone: 304-535-6029, website: www.
nps.gov/hafe).
May 30, 2009
“Remembering John Brown”
The 128th Anniversary of Frederick
Douglass’ Storer College Address on John
Brown will feature Fred Morsell’s dramatic
presentation of this address. 1:00 p.m. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, (phone:
304-535-6029; website: www.nps.gov/hafe).
John Brown, May 1859.
The portrait is a copy of an
original photograph by J.W.
Black of Boston, Mass. Brown
appears standing with a long
beard, long-tail coat, vest,
and trousers. (Harpers Ferry
NHP).
3
 Recent Donations
Captain John Cook
Continued from Page 2
ing down the door at Beall-Air, Col. Lewis
Washington and his slaves were taken prisoner. Washington upbraided Cook for his
cowardice in the affair. Before leaving, Cook
made sure they took possession of George
Washington’s sword and pistol.
On the way back to Harpers Ferry, the
men stopped at the house of farmer and
militia leader John Allstadt, adding more
prisoners and slaves to their wagon. The
men were taken to the fire engine house. At
dawn, Brown sent Cook back to Maryland.
After capturing farmer Terrance Burns,
he was to guard a tiny schoolhouse where
weapons were being stored. Several anxious
hours passed as Cook helplessly listened to
the gunshots across the river.
After finally being relieved from the
schoolhouse, Cook set back for the Ferry.
Despite the realization that Cook was part
of the raiding party, many locals that he
encountered offered information. An African-American woman warned: “they were
fighting hard at the Ferry.” At the canal
lock a mile above town, the lock tender’s
Marines storm the Armory
Fire-Enginehouse, which
subsequently became known
as John Brown’s Fort, on
October 18, 1859. (Harpers
Ferry NHP)
wife, Mrs. Hardy and another woman, Mrs.
Elizabeth Read, told him that his men were
hemmed in and that several of them had
been shot. Mrs. Read begged him not to go
back to the Ferry.
Finally reaching Maryland Heights,
Cook climbed the craggy rock to get a better
view of the town. Through a spyglass he saw
that his party was completely surrounded. A
body of men was firing down on the engine
house from High Street. Cook attempted
The Arcland Group
Noah Mehrkam
Washington, DC
Paula Degen
Arnold, MD
Eastern Middle School
Silver Spring, MD
John Frye
Hagerstown, MD
Georgetown Law Library
Washington, DC
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA
Dave Gilbert
Winchester, VA
John P. Lewis
Millwood, VA
Joy & Eric Lewis
Shepherdstown, WV
Max & Nancy Weaver
Riverside, CT
West Virginia Division of
Tourism
Charleston, WV
4
to draw their fire. Several shots were exchanged. The last shot hit the limb he was
holding on to and he fell about fifteen feet
down an embankment. Bruised and lacerated, Cook descended the mountain.
Retreating to the lock house, Cook
found resident William McGreg, who told
him that the bridge was occupied by troops
and that all but seven raiders were dead—
two shot while trying to cross the river.
McGreg begged him to leave immediately.
Cook then stopped at the house of an Irish
family who gave him coffee and food. Their
information was the most distressing: Brown
was dead. Continuing towards the farmhouse, Cook came upon four raiders who
had been detailed to Maryland. He relayed
the information he had received and all of
the men, realizing the hopelessness of the
situation, decided it would be futile to return to the Ferry. Much like the slaves they
wanted to free, the raiders headed north
into the mountains, following the path of
the Underground Railroad.
John Cook was now a fugitive. He spent
the next week hiking the mountains in
Maryland on his way to his wife and child
in Pennsylvania. Exhausted, hungry, and
separated from the other raiders, he made
it as far as the Mont Alto Furnace, about
eight miles from Chambersburg. Claiming
to be a hunter looking for provisions, he
approached two men. Here, Cook’s luck
ended. The two men were experienced slave
catchers and knew of the $1,000 reward for
his capture. Cook surrendered easily. After
his identity was confirmed he was transferred to the Charles Town, Virginia, jail.
Cook was the only member of Brown’s
group to confess. His printed confession was
sold as a fundraiser for a local man wounded
during the raid. This angered Brown and
the other raiders. It is said on the day of
Brown’s execution he bade an affectionate
farewell to his raiders—except John Cook.
Brown said that Cook misled him regarding
the support he would receive from the local
slaves. Cook denied the charge.
Despite the defense mounted by his
brother-in-law, Governor Williard of Indiana, and Indiana Attorney General Daniel
Voorhees—blame “bad old Brown” and his
influence on Cook’s young mind—John
Cook was found guilty and sentenced to
hang on December 16, 1859.
Cook remained reckless up until the
night before his scheduled execution. Using
a screw from the bed and a knife borrowed
from one of the guards to cut a lemon, Cook
and another raider attempted to escape.
They opened a passage through their cell,
but were discovered before they could make
it over the jail wall.
The next morning, witnesses say when
the white cap was placed on Cook’s face and
the sheriff was adjusting the noose he shook
his friend’s hand heartily and said “Goodbye, God bless you.” He then waved his
hand to the crowd around the gallows and
said, “Goodbye all.”
Cook’s family took his body north for
burial to Cypress Hills Cemetery in the
Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn,
New York. Jennie Cook met his northern
relatives at his grave. She remarried, and
her son later became a prominent lawyer in
New York City.
Was John Cook more adventurer or
abolitionist, hero or scoundrel? In one of his
last letters to his family, it is clear that he
felt no remorse for his part in John Brown’s
raid:
“I know that you do not believe that
any stain of murder rests upon my soul.
Though doomed to die for such a crime, I
feel a conscious innocence from such deep
stains of blood. Whatever may be my fate,
I shall meet it calmly. If we are thus early
parted here, I hope that we again may meet
where partings are no more.”
– by Cathy Baldau
Harpers Ferry Historical Association Membership Application
❏ I wish to join the Harpers Ferry Historical Association (new member)
❏ I wish to renew my membership (renewal)
Please enroll me in the following member category (check one):
❏ $25 Armory Worker – Basic membership for a family household.
Benefits include a newsletter subscription, a 15% discount on all
bookshop purchases, a vinyl decal, and invitations to annual meeting
and events.
❏ $25 Sarah Jane Foster – An alternative basic membership for educators. Benefits include the above plus open house for teachers and
discounts on programs for teachers.
❏ $45 Millwright – For those members who are frequent visitors to
the park. Benefits are the same as Armory Worker category plus a
12-month Harpers Ferry Park entrance pass.
❏ $100 Master Armorer – A supporting membership category. Includes all benefits of the Millwright category plus a “My Home
Towne” replica of the Harpers Ferry Train Station, member recognition in our newsletter and at our annual meeting, and a special tour.
❏ $250 Paymaster – For businesses, vendors or family donors who
wish to contribute to the Association’s mission. Benefits include
15% discount on all bookshop purchases; a newsletter subscription;
vinyl decal; invitations to annual meetings, events, and associationsponsored education programs; a 12-month park pass; “My Home
Towne” replica; recognition in newsletter and at annual meeting;
special tour; and additional membership card.
❏ $500 Armory Superintendent – For supporters (individual and
corporate) who wish to perpetuate Association and Park education
programs. Benefits include 15% discount on all bookshop purchases,
a newsletter subscription, vinyl decals, invitations to annual meeting, events, and education programs, “My Home Towne” replica,
recognition in the newsletter and at annual meeting, special tour, an
Amercia the Beautiful pass (for use in all parks) for individuals, and
a display plaque for businesses.
❏ I am not interested in receiving member ben-
efits, but I would like to make a contribution
in the amount of ________ to aid the mission
of the Harpers Ferry Historical Association.
❏ I am a Charter Member and would like to
make a donation of ________.
❏ Check if this is a new address for you
_____________________________________________
Name
_____________________________________________
Address
_____________________________________________
City
State
Zip
_____________________________________________
Telephone
_____________________________________________
E-mail
Please clip and mail to:
Harpers Ferry Historical Association
P.O. Box 197
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Toll-free: 1-800-821-5206
Phone: (304) 535-6881
Fax: (304) 535-6749
Email: [email protected]
5
 The Harpers Ferry Historical
Association operates the National Park Bookshop in Lower
Town Harpers Ferry. Profits
from sales are returned to the
park to support inter­pretive and
educational programs to enhance
your visit.
You are invited to join this
unique organization and be a
part of Harpers Ferry’s special
family. For more information
call (304) 535-6881 or send
e-mail to: [email protected]
Harpers Ferry Historical Association
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Harpers Ferry, WV
25425
Permit No. 12
Post Office Box 197
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
ARPERS FERRY
istorical Association
Executive Director
Deborah K. Piscitelli
Editor
David T. Gilbert
Board of Directors
James Silvia, President
Wayne Welty, Treasurer
Anne Long
Suzanne Silvia
Midge Flinn Yost
6
Harpers Ferry Native to Sign
First Novel at Bookshop
Growing up in a historic town shadowed
by two mountains and surrounded by two
rivers—“one green and fast, the other
brown and slow”— provided John Michael
Cummings a colorful, unique setting for his
young adult novel, The Night I Freed John
Brown (Philomel Books, 2008).
The angst of 13-year-old Josh Connors unfolds on the historic streets of
Harpers Ferry. His father, simply put,
is “mean.” The angry, anti-social Bill
Connors hides the family’s rusting,
run-down house from the tourists,
belittles and threatens his three sons,
and refuses to divulge the source of his
fury. Josh’s beleaguered mother is little
help, trying to quiet her husband’s
rants while pining for a better home
and lifestyle. When Josh’s two older
brothers aren’t torturing him, they’re
finding their own trouble “like scared
horses running right into the fire.”
And across the street, the wax figure
of John Brown perpetually glares at
Josh, reflecting not only his father’s
anger, but the rage and rebellion
building inside of him.
Reprieve from his unhappy life is found
with Josh’s new neighbors, the Richmonds,
who have just moved into the historic,
stately home next door. Luke Richmond is
Josh’s age, and the two boys become instant
friends. Niles Richmond is a park historian
and the polar opposite of Bill Connors:
educated, well-spoken, a Shakespearean
actor, and not “mean.” Luke also has two
older brothers, but they are respectable and
well-behaved, increasing Josh’s envy of the
Richmonds and bitterness toward his own
family. When Josh participates in a John
Brown play against his father’s implicit orders, Bill Connors erupts. His reaction triggers a series of events, climaxing in a night
in which Josh’s emotions finally explode on
the streets of Harpers Ferry.
From the poetic, ghostly opening to the
last page, young adults (and their parents)
will be captivated by the vivid prose, engaging characters, and psychological mysteries
that unravel between the confluence of the
Potomac and the Shenandoah.
John Michael Cummings will appear at the
Park Bookshop on Sunday, April 19 at 1:00
p.m. to talk with visitors and sign copies of his
new book.